Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Acquires New Position in Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 3,453 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $225,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. purchased a new position in Middlesex Water during the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,016,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in Middlesex Water by 89.0% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 74,946 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,889,000 after buying an additional 35,282 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Middlesex Water during the first quarter worth $1,796,000. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its position in Middlesex Water by 26.5% during the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 150,821 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,918,000 after acquiring an additional 31,607 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of Middlesex Water by 12.5% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 219,119 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $11,451,000 after acquiring an additional 24,400 shares during the period. 79.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Middlesex Water Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of MSEX stock opened at $69.70 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.65. Middlesex Water has a fifty-two week low of $45.42 and a fifty-two week high of $73.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.24 billion, a PE ratio of 30.30 and a beta of 0.79. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $64.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $59.76.

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $55.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $50.00 million. Middlesex Water had a return on equity of 9.58% and a net margin of 22.53%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.56 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Middlesex Water will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Middlesex Water Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.95%. This is an increase from Middlesex Water’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Middlesex Water’s dividend payout ratio is presently 56.52%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MSEX. Baird R W downgraded Middlesex Water from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Middlesex Water from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st.

Middlesex Water Company Profile

Middlesex Water Company owns and operates regulated water utility and wastewater systems. It operates in Regulated and Non-Regulated segments. The Regulated segment collects, treats, and distributes water on a retail and wholesale basis to residential, commercial, industrial, and fire protection customers, as well as provides regulated wastewater systems in New Jersey and Delaware.